1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a mixing and dispensing sprayer apparatus comprising a bottle or container and a nozzle assembly, where a portion of a fluid passed through the nozzle assembly is diverted into the container and is mixed with a material contained in the container, and then the mixture of the fluid and the material passes from the container back into the flow of fluid passing through the nozzle assembly and exits the nozzle assembly with the fluid as a spray.
2. Description of the Related Art
Typical examples of prior art mixing devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,536,361 and 3,323,685. The mixing and dispensing sprayer apparatus of the present invention comprises several improvements over prior art mixing devices of these types.
The typical prior art mixing device for sprays is comprised of two parts, a container and a sprayer head or nozzle. The sprayer head is usually attached over an opening in the container by an internally threaded removable cap. The cap, together with the sprayer head, is removable from the container opening to enable a supply of material to be dispensed by the device to be added to the container interior. The sprayer head has a fluid passage extending across the container opening. A port extends from the sprayer head fluid passage and exits the sprayer head at a position where it is confined by the screw threaded cap. The port provides fluid communication between the fluid passage of the sprayer head and the interior volume of the container when the sprayer head is attached to the container opening by the cap.
The sprayer head is provided with some type of connector at an upstream or inlet end of the sprayer head for attaching the sprayer head to a hose or other source of fluid. A deflecting wall or baffle is formed in the fluid passage. The baffle causes a portion of the fluid directed through the fluid passage to be deflected through the port and into the interior of the container. The remainder of the fluid passes through an orifice formed by the baffle and across the port, and exits the sprayer head at a downstream end of the fluid passage.
The deflected portion of fluid circulates in the container interior and mixes with the material to be dispensed contained therein. The material mixed with the fluid rises to the top of the container and passes with the fluid through the port and out of the container into the flow of fluid passing through the sprayer head passage with which it exits the sprayer head as a spray.
Mixing devices of this type are used in a variety of applications including spraying seeds or fertilizer, or both, over lawns and dispensing soap or detergents, all of which typically include a liquid as the fluid carrying and dispensing the materials contained in the sprayer container. Additional uses include the dispensing of powders, such as insect repellent dust, dispensing of dry seeds, or other finely divided or particulate materials, all of which typically employ compressed air as the fluid for carrying and dispensing the materials.
Prior art mixing devices for sprays have been found to be relatively expensive to manufacture and at times are difficult to operate. Prior art mixing devices for sprays, when reduced to their basic component parts, are comprised of a separate container and sprayer head that are screwed together. The sprayer head and container are often comprised of separate parts that are formed by injection molding, and are then secured together to form the sprayer head and container. The sprayer head and container are then screwed together to complete the assembly of the prior art device. Alternatively, the container alone may be formed by blow molding with the spray head being formed by injection molding. Again, these separate parts are then screwed together to complete the assembly of the device. These manufacturing processes require a number of separate molds to construct each of the component parts, and involve a number of manufacturing steps to produce the final devices. Each of these adds to the overall expense involved in producing the prior art mixing devices for sprays.
Prior art mixing devices for sprays have also been found to be awkward to use. The difficulty in using prior art mixing devices most often results from their not being constructed with a distinct handle, and from the attachment of the container to the sprayer head at the access opening of the container. In the absence of a handle, the sprayer head or container must be gripped to hold the prior art device. The removable connection of the sprayer head to the container requires the container to be separated from the sprayer head each time it is necessary to add more material to be dispensed to the container interior. With the sprayer head attached to a garden hose or other source of carrier fluid, it is difficult to unscrew the container from the sprayer head and often the container is dropped by the user of the device as the container is unscrewed. The construction of prior art mixing devices not only makes their use difficult and awkward, but when the container is constructed of glass or other fragile materials, dropping the container as it is unscrewed from the sprayer head can result in the breakage of the container.
It is an object of the present invention to overcome the disadvantages associated with prior art mixing devices for sprays by providing an improved mixing and dispensing sprayer apparatus that is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and is much easier to use than prior art devices. It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved mixing and dispensing sprayer apparatus that is comprised of a container and a nozzle assembly that are formed together unitarily as by an inexpensive blow molding process. It is also an object of the present invention to provide an improved sprayer apparatus having an access opening to the container that is separated from the nozzle assembly, enabling materials to be added to the container interior without separating the container from the nozzle assembly. It is also an object of the present invention to provide an improved sprayer apparatus having a container with an interior wall configured to enhance the ability of the apparatus to regulate the amount of material mixed with the carrier fluid as the fluid is passed through the apparatus.
A still further object of the invention is to provide an improved sprayer apparatus wherein the configuration of the unitary connection of the container and nozzle assembly of the apparatus provides a handle that enables the apparatus to be easily gripped and manipulated by a user of the apparatus.
Other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the invention and drawing figures.